Matt Taven, when he won the Northeast Wrestling championship the first time. Photo courtesy Steve Credo Media.

OK, I’m back. It’s been a while. More on that at the end.

Northeast Wrestling’s Wrestling Under the Stars IV card takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fishkill’s Dutchess Stadium. If you missed it online, here is my story on the show, which also touches on the big business that pro wrestling is, especially in the Hudson Valley.

For the story, I spoke to NEW champion Matt Taven (who defends Saturday against Warbeard Hanson), Matt Hardy (who faces Caleb Konley) and NEW president Michael Lombardi of New Windsor, who really has some terrific things happening with his promotion. Here’s a few snippets from Matt Taven, which did not make it into my story, which also runs as the Enjoy! cover story in Friday’s Poughkeepsie Journal. I’ll be back with more from Matt Hardy later.

MATT TAVEN

On Northeast Wrestling’s success in presenting huge cards…

“With Northeast Wrestling, they have a reputation that kind of speaks for itself. Michael does great work and I’m excited to do that show. The wrestlers know that Michael Lombardi really gets out there and spreads the word and that’s a big thing in wrestling. He’s does a good job letting people know that these stars are around right in their backyard.”

On wrestling in a baseball stadium…

“Personally, I’ve been other shows in big, open stadiums like that and whether it’s just the setup or the lack of attendance or a lack of advertising, it can be pretty cavernous. One side is full and you turn around, and you’re looking at no one. It can be pretty disappointing. These shows speak for themselves. We’ve packed those houses and the word spreads around. Like, ‘wow, this actually looks like a baseball stadium.’ A wrestling show trying to run a baseball stadium, no disrespect, it’s a hard gig to do. Baseball stadiums aren’t really the best for wrestling shows. NEW has been doing it so long, so many times, that they’ve figured out the way to fill the place and make it look like a wrestling show.”

What he is looking most forward to about Friday’s NEW show…

“A lot of these guys on the card I’ve been able to see wherever I go and it’s like my old buddies getting back together. I don’t see Samoa Joe. I don’t get to see him much. Me, personally, Rey Mysterio is someone I’ve looked up to since I first saw him in WCW in 1996 when I was 11 years old. He’s not a person I get to see too often in person so that’s definitely something that’s exciting for me. That’s my personal highlight of the event.”

How did you get hooked up with New Japan? What has that opportunity been like?

“Ring of Honor and New Japan have had a growing relationship. New Japan came over to the U.S. and you just get in front of the right people. It just so happened that things worked out. They knew of Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis and Adam Cole and all of us got together and formed the faction. We were in the World Tag League, which was funny because it was quite an opportunity for us, but me and Mike had only tagged together a couple of times before that. We’d known each other since starting wrestling. The World Tag League in the first place was a career goal, but me and Mike had to figure each other out as a team.”

On the differences between wrestling in the U.S. and wrestling in Japan…

“It’s extremely different. It’s not the catcalling and the non-stop crowd interaction. For me, it was almost a throwback from when I started. I was trying to pull off all my old tricks and doing things that would make me stand out to those people, but I realized I was dealing with a quiet crowd that doesn’t know who I am. I had to remember that me and Mike were there for a reason and it was for our style and who we are. I didn’t need to break too far away from what I was doing. There were times where I would normally interact in a certain way, but the people didn’t know what I was saying. In the end, we learned a few things, how to work that style and it molded us as we picked up on the intricacies. I’ve been fortunate enough to really expand my bookings. I’ve gone to England, Japan and all over the country.”

On the changing face of the industry (emergence of NXT, ROH getting TV, groups like NEW and HOH putting on huge successful shows)…

“Two years ago, I said it was the golden age of the indies. I think I was a little bit ahead of myself because it was actually before the time to actually say it. Now it looks like it is the golden age of the indies. You see stuff like NXT, which is a direct answer to the indie movement, WWE’s version of the indie movement. Every place that draws a good crowd is another good thing for all the wrestlers because there’s so much talent there. It’s not like it was with WWE and WCW, where there were two major entities to pick up those guys. Especially for us ROH guys, seeing the rise of ROH, NEW and HOH, the rise of all these groups. There are talented guys who may not have WWE contracts. The more places people have to display their talents and make a living off it, the better it is for wrestling in general. There’s plenty of people I’ve seen who have just had to leave it behind because they were not able to feed families and feed themselves. That looks like it’s all been growing and getting better and now these guys can actually make money, feed their families and make a living off (wrestling). The more companies, the better. Isn’t it weird that we have two wrestling shows on Destination America now? If every wrestling company was on TV, I would love it.

On how social media and modern technology have changed wrestling…

“Social media has changed the game for better and for worse. Guys really have to watch themselves. At the same time, anyone with a keyboard and a Twitter account thinks they are an expert. It’s given a lot of people and companies that exposure through social media. PWG (Pro Wrestling Guerrilla) is one of the biggest indie companies. Before social media, people didn’t know of them too much. But with social media, YouTube, getting highlights out, this is the golden age of the indies. Maybe we don’t have a national audience, but through Facebook, you can get people to watch stuff and spread the word. You keep up with the trend or you die with the dinosaurs. That quick YouTube video of you, that quick little gif of you, that spreads around.

On NEW’s more intimate shows in Bethany, Connecticut…

“I think NEW’s shows in Bethany are the East Coast version of PWG at the moment. It’s got a smaller, more intimate atmosphere and a packed house. You feel like you’re in Madison Square Garden. You’ve got people on top of you and those people are passionate. If you don’t check out NEW in Bethany, you are doing yourself a disservice. It’s without a doubt one of my favorite places to be in. The Bethany crowd, itself, knows its wrestling, and it makes that building extremely special.

Note from Phil: Welcome back to Under the Ring. To make a long story extremely short, I have a new position at the Poughkeepsie Journal, which was a very positive move for me, but has prevented me from keeping up on wrestling the way I used to be able to. I hope to at least be back 3 or 4 times a week. It won’t be show recaps. I plan on giving two or three observations on topics and then seeing where it goes from there. Stay tuned.

Collector’s Realm inside Dutchess Marketplace, at Dutchess Mall, 461 Route 9 in Fishkill is hosting WWE Hall of Famer, New York Times best-selling author and former three-time WWE champion Mick Foley for autographs and photo-ops for $15 apiece from noon to 2 p.m.

The flier for the event also includes a mention that there will be a visit from a close, personal friend of the Hardcore Legend. Not to be Ebenezer Scrooge, but I know Mr. Foley loves Christmas and named one of his children after Christmas, so I am thinking his friend might have a white beard, white hair and wear red. Just my thought.